In life there are many 'fine lines' and one that I find interesting (but trivial) is the subject of dressing up a family pet. My last 4 dogs have been bigger, working dogs that didn't need clothes for protection or warmth in our climate save for a few days a year. When we suddenly had a snow fall, I'd put on a winter coat to keep their tummies dry. And since I walk Eco (my chocolate lab) daily, she wears a rain coat so she doesn't get that stinky dog smell and it reduces the amount of 'road spray' on her tummy - this is more for cleanliness since she's an inside dog. And this is really the only times I put anything on her. They are practical pieces. My mom lives in a snowy part of Alberta and I sent her dog some Muttluks - this is also practical as road salt can wreak havoc on dogs foot pads.
In this article, they answer the question - do dogs like wearing clothes?
So I'm curious - do you dress your dog up? What does it wear? What do you think of people who dress up their pets? What is too far/too much?
3 comments:
Your dog is named Eco? My sister-in-law is named Echo. Cool name!
I've passed that muttluk website on to a couple of people. The boots I can kind of see because some dogs get terrible clumps of snow between their toes and I know that sled dog teams wear them, but I used to be more skeptical about the coats. My D-I-L's dog is very lean with very short hair and I always skoffed at them putting a coat on it when they came here (cold winter). I figured it's got fur and will run around to stay warm, but then saw it shivering terribly one day. Living in a warmer climate this cold is a shock, so I'm not so judgemental anymore. And keeping the road spray off.... I can see that too. And how about a balaclava? You sent me a pattern for one, but I have yet to make it. Another friend has a dog that is afraid of the noise at Halloween so puts cotton in its ears and wraps a cloth around it's head. Maybe there's a market there. You could make them and sell them online.
We say Eco like "eek-oh" but yes, it's different.
I agree, the Muttluks are necessary and some sweaters are needed for short haired (actually some longer haired dogs get snow clumps pretty quickly).
So you basically agree that the dog clothes are not for style or fashion but for practical reasons? No doggie Halloween or Christmas outsfits for your animals then?
Yes, I wanted to make the balaclava for my dog Jazz hoping it would reduce the amount of firecrackers she heard as she was so phobic, but I didn't get the chance to make it before she died last February - it had a practical purpose as well.
Hmm, maybe I could make some doggie balaclavas to sell - good idea. Thanks!
When D-I-L and hubby showed up the first time with coat for their dog and acted like they would with a child....couldn't go out without the coat on....and it was very fashionable and colour co-ordinated to what THEY were wearing.... I have to admit my initial reaction was "what a couple of yuppies. That's why God gave them fur!" To each their own, I guess. It mustn't be the right coat for her, though, because it ends up all askew on her after awhile and in the snow it's completely useless. It fills up between the coat and her body and she ends up with a snowpack up against her chest. Maybe they need the full body snowsuit on that muttluk website (I sent them the link). Then there's Xena, who grows thicker fur in winter and puts on a little fat. She must have Husky in her because she LOVES being outside all day and can be found sitting for hours in the snow and even taking a nap! Tried to put felt antlers on her one Christmas, but she was having none of it.
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